Economic growth: Optimism and pessimism

The Ministry of Economic Development, using information supplied by the Statistics Department, has announced that in the first 9 months of 2008 Georgia’s GDP growth was 4%. The nominal GDP was almost GEL 13 billion and GDP per capita GEL 2,188. The biggest share of GDP was created by the repair of cars, domestic appliances etc. Agriculture, fishing and forestry was the next most productive industry, the third being processing.

The third quarter of 2008 was the most difficult due to the Russian invasion in August. This hurt the construction industry most of all. Despite such a picture representatives of the administration are optimistic, promising there will be growth in the Georgian economy and consequently in GDP. Independent experts however are more cautious in their evaluation. Analyst Demur Giorkehlidze thinks that if we can maintain the existing situation, in which the speed of growth is maintained and working places are not lost, Georgia will already be doing very well, but if economic activity slows down this will certainly result in lost jobs.